By True depth of NHS dentistry shortage revealed in new investigation
A BBC investigation has found that nine in 10 NHS dental practices across the UK are not accepting new adult patients.
No dentists are taking on adult NHS patients in a third of the UK’s top-tier councils while a further eight in 10 NHS practices are not taking on children.
The Department of Health said it had made an extra £50m available “to help bust the Covid backlogs” and that improving NHS access was a priority.
According to the BBC, the lack of NHS appointments has led people to take matters into their own hands such as, pulling out their own teeth without anaesthesia, making their own improvised dentures and restricting their long-term diets to little more than soup.
The investigation also found that the problem was worst in the south-west of England, Yorkshire and the Humber and the North West, where 98% of practices were not accepting new adult NHS patients.
Access was best in London, where almost a quarter of practices were taking on new adult NHS patients.
One in 10 local authorities did not have any practices taking on under-16s for NHS treatment, despite children in full-time education being entitled to completely free care on the health service
About 200 practices said they would take on a child under the NHS only if a parent signed up as a private patient
Not only is routine dental care difficult to access quickly in many places, most practices did not even have waiting lists. For those that did, the majority said the waiting time was a year or longer, or were unable to say how long people might have to wait.
The British Dental Association, which represents high-street NHS dentists in the UK, said NHS dentistry was at a “tipping point” due to a decade of under investment.
BDA chairman, Eddie Crouch, blames the current NHS contract for the shortage, telling the BBC:
“There doesn’t appear to be a commitment, really, from the Treasury to actually invest in [dentistry].
“Patients are having teeth removed because it’s a cheaper option than actually saving the teeth. The whole system is set up for health inequalities, and that significantly needs to change.
“Many of my colleagues do not see enough emphasis on improving the situation in the short term.”
